Biggest Hurdles Still Blocking the Brooklyn Nets' Contender Status

The Brooklyn Nets are already much improved from their abysmal 2011-12 season, but they are a long way from establishing themselves as the Eastern Conference contenders that many thought they would be.

Through the first three games of the young season, the Nets have struggled to a 1-2 record. Their most recent loss was a 30-point beatdown at the hands of the Miami Heat.

There have been some positives out of Brooklyn to take from the first three games, but there's no denying the fact that the Net are not playing as well as they have the potential to.

Even after the depressing loss to the Heat, there's still plenty of hope for Avery Johnson and his team—all they have to do is overcome a few hurdles.

Bogans is a lockdown defender as well, but Wallace is the most dependable defensive player of all the starters.

As a team, the Nets don't necessarily play great defense.

If you need an example, see that game against the Heat. Offense lacked in that game as well, but the defense was clearly at a disadvantage without Wallace.

With Wallace healthy, the defense takes a much-needed step towards legitimacy. It's really difficult to contend without at least an average defense, and the Nets have a below-average one without their small forward.

Free Throw Shooting

Hitting the freebies from the charity stripe is something that every single Nets player needs to improve upon. Deron Williams is the team leader at 79 percent. While that's not terrible, it's definitely not where you want your team leader to be.

As a team, the Nets have checked in at just over 69 percent.

It may be a result of early season misses and a lack of opportunities adding up, but free throw shooting can't continue to be an issue.

Contending teams capitalize when they have opportunities—plain and simple.

Win the Rebounding Battle

The Nets have been out-rebounded 40.67 to 36.67 through three games. Much of that has to do with their lack of an established rebounder in the paint.

Kris Humphries has averaged double-digit rebounds the past two seasons, but he's struggled early on. He's averaging 6.7 rebounds per game this season.

Brook Lopez has never been a good rebounder, averaging just 7.4 career rebounds per game coming into this season. He's even under-performed to those relatively low standards, averaging the same rebounds per game as Humphries.

Rebounding does fall mostly on the shoulders of the big men, but it really is a team effort. The entire team will have to work at hitting the glass harder and out-rebounding their opponents.

Keeping the ball out of the other team's hands is obviously crucial to giving your own team the advantage.